Serpent's Coils
by Warmongerfemme
Summary: She couldn't resist. Neither of them could, no matter how much he had hurt them. He had them in the palm of his hand, an entire division within his deathly coils. It hurt, that he would barely spare a glance in passing as he used them, but that glance was more than they had expected. GinXOc Possible one sided GinXIzuru if you read it that way. Rating may change.
1. Chapter 1

Aki Himura, the fourth seat of Third Division, followed her blond vice-captain through the winding paths of the Seireitei as they carried piles of papers to First Division. Izuru Kira's head hung lower than normal, and the bags under his eyes were pronounced, as they had been since their captain's betrayal.

While much of the Seireitei was surprised by Sōsuke Aizen and Kaname Tōsen's defection, many hushed words claimed that all had known Gin Ichimaru was just waiting for the right time; that his betrayal was no surprise. Many mourned the loss of the gentle captain of fifth division and the quiet man that was captain of ninth. No one, however, was expected to mourn the loss of the mocking snake of a man that was Gin Ichimaru.

But the division that once belonged to Ichimaru did. Their Vice took it especially hard, spending much of his time in bars or in his quarters, drowning his sorrows under bottles of sake. No longer did he devote himself to the paperwork that, even under Gin Ichimaru, would have been his. Only after days of inactivity, after he'd recovered from the bouts of sickness his excessive drinking brought and before he began the cycle again, could he be coerced into signing the necessary forms or reading the occasional page or two. Rikū Togakushi, the division's third seat, tried hard and long to help their Vice along, but found himself taking lead of the better fairing members of the division when it was needed.

Aki Himura, on most days fell into the group that Rikū often lead, but on some, she faired not much better than her vice-captain. Not only had she lost her Captain, she had lost her friend. Izuru had always been a rather solemn man, but now, not even alcohol could bring light to his eyes. She still stayed close to him, taking care of him when he fell to sickness and pushing him to do what little work he did in the few moments that he was sober. They had met while in the academy, in one of Sosuke Aizen's optional calligraphy classes. She had been a year under Izuru, but something had clicked and gradually she became his group's tagalong. Izuru, being the ever patient man he was, spent many an hour working with her on techniques she had trouble comprehending. Aki owed much to the man, and she felt leaving him now would only allow him to plunge further into his depression.

The chilling wind of the late fall season attempted to blow the stacks of paper from their arms as the two shinigami worked their way towards first division. Their trip so far had been spent in silence and Aki was hesitant to break it. Little things upset Izuru now, and what she wanted to talk about was one of those such things. Nearing their destination, Aki decided it was now or never.

"Izuru, when we're done, Hisagi-san and Matsumoto-san have invited you out. I really think you should go. "

It was if she hadn't said anything. Izuru didn't respond, look over, even blink to let her know he'd heard her, so she tried again.

"Izuru? Please, you can't keep making yourself sick like this. Going out would be good for you, and Hisagi-san and Matsumoto-san really want to see you. They've been trying to get you to go out for a while now…" Still there was no answer, though Aki swore she saw him grimace and lower his head some. "Izuru… What would Captain Ichimaru think if he saw you like this?" She knew that bringing up their captain was harsh, and she wasn't surprised when Izuru flinched and mouthed something silently to himself. "Please go out tonight, Izuru. Rikū and I can take care of everything at the division." Shifting the papers over into one arm, Aki reached out to rest her hand on his arm, finally bringing his attention to her. _He looks horrible. _In the bright light of the day, it was clear just how badly Izuru was fairing. He was horribly pale and the rings under his eyes looked deep and painful as he squinted against the light. It hurt to see him like this, stung her straight to the core and it took every bit of strength she had not to apologize and tell him to forget all she'd said. Stopped in the middle of the path, Aki squeezed her friends arm, smiling sadly up at him, "Please, Izuru, just tonight and I'll stop asking you, alright? I won't bring it up again, I promise."

Izuru stared at her blankly for a few moments before nodding his head, his shoulders falling more than the red haired woman thought possible. "Alright, Aki." He said, "I'll go."

Part of her wanted to smile in victory, but she couldn't. Not with how pained and defeated Izuru looked. Instead, she thanked him and he led them off to deliver their papers and he could return to his seclusion before he would have to go out for the night.

* * *

This is my first foray back into the world of writing fanfiction for quite a while, so it'll probably take me a while to get back into the swing of things, but I think this was a good start. I apologize if anything information in here isn't as it's supposed to be in order to line up with Bleach cannon, but no matter how much I looked, I had far too much trouble trying to find simple little things that I just couldn't remember from when I watched the series. Feel free to leave me a message/review letting me know of any such info! Thank you for reading, and I hope that between all the stuff I have going on in the next month or so, I'll be able to update!


	2. Chapter 2

She should have known something was wrong when after half an hour, she had yet to pinpoint where the hollow was. Locating hollows was her zanpakuto's specialty, along with purifying them. It should have been a quick and easy mission, and that's why she was alone when finally she found it. When it found her.

Aki was thrown to the ground as a weight slammed into her back. Caught off guard, she hit the pavement of a park pathway hard, her zanpakuto flying from her grip and skidding across the ground. Dizzy and struggling for air, the red haired shinigami scrambled to her feet to reach for her weapon. Before she could grasp it, the weight slammed into her side, knocking her to the ground again. There was a harsh crack as her shoulder took the brunt and Aki cried out when she felt something break. This hollow was not what its spiritual force had indicated. She hadn't even caught more than a glimpse of it but it was clear that she was overpowered.

The heavy sound of the creature lumbering over had her dull green eyes flashing open despite the throbbing pain. Its body, a swollen, sagging mass reminded her of a toad, and the tongue that hung out of its mouth did nothing to dispel the thought. Its hands however, were like that of a human, but appeared broken at the wrist bent at an unnatural angle. The hollow let out a laugh that sounded drowned and wet as it approached, broken hands grasping at the air. Terrified, Aki wrenched herself to her feet, grabbing her wakazashi and holding it between her body and that of the nearing hollow, hands shaking. Her body ached. After two throws, she felt weak and it made no sense. She would be in pain, yes, but not like this.

She could see the hollow now though, and she would fight. Maybe she could run if she had to, but she was sure it would follow and that would put others at danger. Her job was to keep people safe, but what good was a dead shinigami? Before Aki could make a decision, its tongue struck out, like that of a toad after its prey. With a slowing shunpo, Aki managed to avoid the hit, keeping her zanpakuto between them. As its tongue drew back, drops of thick saliva flew off, some landing on her skin. It burned like a fresh bruise, and the discoloration soon followed, light at first, but quickly darkening. Frantically, the soul reaper rubbed at the drops with her sleeve, only to find all she was doing was spreading the pain.

Distracted, Aki was easy prey for the hollow as it struck again, nearly knocking her off her feet. The blow landed right in the center of her stomach but before the tongue could retreat again, she sliced downwards, cutting into it. The hollow howled in pain, withdrawing the appendage. At the same time, Aki felt the new bruises forming. She felt weaker by the moment and things began to spin and blur.

She would die failing at the one thing she was good at. This hollow was simply too strong and had too much of an advantage. Her left arm throbbed from the break and a good majority of her torso was bruised and still worsening. And now, now she had angered the creature and it was lumbering toward her, mouth agape. In a last attempt at doing some damage, Aki raised her zanpakuto between them again and closed her eyes. Perhaps, when it tried to close its mouth on her, its mask would be pierced.

She knew she was asking too much.

And suddenly, a flash of pain lit up her vision and something wet and thick dripped onto her. There was pressure on her midsection, but after a moment, she realized something wasn't right. Slowly, she opened her eyes to see the hollow's cracking mask mere feet from her own face, a sword buried deep between its eyes.

The sword retracted and the pressure disappeared from her waist. Shaking, she turned around, expecting to see Rikū or maybe even Izuru, but instead, she came face to face with the last man she had expected to see. One with silver hair, closed eyes and the smile of snake.

The breath left her body as quick as the first time she'd been hit and her dizziness returned.

She must have been killed.

The hollow swallowed her and this was some vision meant as a reward for her sacrifice.

He could not be there.

It just simply couldn't be.

But as his lips moved and she realized he was speaking to her, it was obvious he was.

The red hilted sword fell from her hand and clattered against the pavement as she stepped to him. "C-captain? But-I-you…how?"

His smirk widened and he watched her as she stumbled to him. "Hm? Not even a thanks? I thought I'd get at least that."

Aki could not believe her eyes. He was their enemy now. He sided with these creatures. Why had he saved her? Why was he there?

Why was she clinging to him with her mobile arm and crying into the black cloak draped over his shoulders?

Gin's slim, boney hand rested on her sore back and rubbed lightly. The touch soothed the pain but rekindled a dimming, different kind of pain in her chest. Aki sobbed as she fell to her knees before her ex-captain and now savior at a complete loss for words to express her gratitude and confusion and relief.

It was just as he—as they had planned. And now, Gin Ichimaru reached down to cradle the back of her head as she sobbed against his thighs. She had always been very prone to letting her emotions control her actions. That is why they'd picked her, why she was the perfect way back into the soul society.

Slowly she calmed, quivering and clinging to the ends of his cloak as if she was afraid he would disappear if she let go. Which was a very likely, if he were to be honest. "Miss me or somethin'?"

Eyes wide, Aki looked to him, searching his face for something, anything that would help her understand why he was there. She found nothing of the sort, and certainly found no voice to answer him so she settled for a nod in response. Gin chuckled and moved his hand, drawing his fingers lightly across her cheek and then down along her jaw to lift her chin. "C'mon, up ya' go."

While the words themselves did not speak of an order, Aki knew it as such and rushed to comply, swallowing a whimper when she was reminded of the fierce pain spreading through her body as she continued to bruise. Standing before him, she felt very small. He wore three layers of clothing, bulking up his much taller frame. He looked down upon her, knowing smirk spread over his face as she took him in again. She wanted to reach out and grasp his clothing to assure he wouldn't disappear, but she resisted. "Captain…why?"

His smirk seemed to waver for a moment as he cocked his head, raising a brow. "Why what, Aki-chan?"

Tears threatened again when she tried to think what she'd meant by her own question. Why was he here? Why had he saved her? Why had he left them? Why? "I-…" She couldn't ask. He had his reasons, of that she was sure. "Why did you save me, captain?"

He laughed as if she had not just stared death in the face, laughed like they were old friends and she'd said something funny. It was although he had forgotten his betrayal and all the pain and grief he left in his wake. Gin reached out to pat her head, leaning in close, "Well, Aki-chan, 'cause I could."


End file.
